Hi - I’m hearing that one should always have a ‘discussion’ (not negotiation!) with the college to see if they may consider providing more $ to the student.
I wondered when the best time to do this is? Must you wait until the need based aid comes out or is there any value in having a conversation after the merit award? This is in a situation where it’s assumed there will be no need aid b/c of family income (not great by an stretch but over $200k)…
Did you apply for financial aid by filling out FAFSA and CSS Profile? What is your EFC?
I would wait until you have the full aid package…unless there has been some significant change in your financial picture.
These ‘discussions’ go much better when there is a better offer from a peer school.
Many would think an income over $200K is pretty great, but I do understand the point in context of college costs.
This poster is talking about asking for more merit aid. Frankly…merit aid criteria vary from college to college. Most schools really don’t care what another college offers you in merit aid…because that other college might have less lofty criteria to meet.
For need based aid, if you have a need based offer from a peer school, some colleges will discuss their package with you and some just won’t. With an income over $200,000 a year with one college student…it’s not likely you would receive need based aid anywhere.
I’d suggest waiting for the merit packages. Remember that your kid can also take a $5500 Direct Loan in her name only.
And a small number of colleges will spontaneously increase their merit aid offers without you even asking. This happened with one of my kids back in 2003. One school doubled his merit aid, and another added about another 50% in merit. If I were guessing, I think they were concerned about their yield and he was an instrumentalist, and performance major. Maybe that helped!
One should “always” have such a discussion? Really? Everybody should? If that advice is followed by every student or parent of a student receiving any merit or need-based aid, I can imagine the immediate meltdown that would happen in every college financial aid office across the country.
“I’m hearing that one should always have a ‘discussion’ (not negotiation!) with the college to see if they may consider providing more $ to the student.”
I had not heard that before. If you’re making over $200K, I don’t expect you’ll see any need-based aid at all (without extenuating circumstances). Merit aid, maybe, but, as others have mentioned, have an offer from another college (preferably equally ranked or higher).
Frankly, if the NPC matches (or happens to come in more than) the aid offer you ultimately get, I’d be pretty satisfied. If one keeps going back each year for a better deal, in a couple years if their financial situation changes for the worse, they may find the college’s goodwill has been exhausted.
@BelknapPoint, sadly, this way of thinking is very prevalent. It is part of what wore me out when I was a financial aid director. I have since quit, and I don’t miss this aspect of the job. Not everyone can get great aid, but almost everyone expects it. I sympathize, but it really is rough when you have to try to enroll a class with limited funding for aid.
@“Jolynne Smyth”
Being in the top 2% of family income is not great? A dose reality is needed here.
Colleges may offer additional need based aid if you can show a substantial change in your financial situation, but if your income was $200k+ when your child applied and it’s still approaching a quarter of a million dollars per year, I wouldn’t expect any need based aid. What’s your EFC? That’s the minimum you can expect to pay
At my son’s midwest Jesuit school, several of his friends reached out to the school for more merit and in many cases were given more money from the dept they planned on majoring in. It can’t hurt. And I would say the sooner the better. But I would not expect a lot more in aid.
<<<3.6 UW gpa, 1330 SAT<<<<
As you are talking about merit aid money, this negotiating will rely on having picked the right schools. Maybe cite your list? Do you know where your kid sits in the applicant pool?
Thanks for all the feedback! Much appreciated.
Yes, I fully expect to get absolute zero in need-based. Not expecting, not counting on it in any way (although did fill out FASFA & CSS).
This was a bit of a protocol question - D has received merit money (sometimes pretty small amounts and sometimes more) at a bunch of schools (she applied to an exorbitant number to increase the possibility of merit).
Since we are getting zip in need didn’t know if it were appropriate (or premature?) to have a conversation with admissions about any possible increase. For instance - a favorite private school is completely out of reach financially with the offer they gave. Some more $ could make it work.
Based on what was said here it seems like it might be okay to try now (of course, being very respectful and nice with the college folks…!) ?
Sybyllla - yep, picked schools that met D’s main criteria and also where her stats were in the upper range of the average.
Again, thanks!
How much more money do you need? $300, $3000, $30,000?
If you ask for additional merit aid, you might get a small increase…might. But it’s not likely to be huge.
And at many schools, they will simply not review merit awards…because those are based on their criteria for awarding.
Getting a larger merit award from another college likely isn’t going to matter either.
ETA…if you have a conversion about this with one college…and they meet your needs, you should be prepared to put a deposit for admission down immediately.
So everyone pays sticker price for their car and is happy about it? Nobody negotiates?
Nothing wrong trying for more merit. That said know your worth. Be able to make a logical argument why you need or deserve more. Be prepared for very little or nothing. If by chance you do get more be prepared to sign on the dotted line. Rightly so.
We waited until our S had his offers. The schools have to be comparable and even then it may not hold any weight.
We didn’t get any increase in merit.
I will say that even though we didn’t get an increase, the one FA rep was a wonderful woman. We had a great conversation.
At the other school, the FA rep was just horrible. My H is a very personable guy and even he walked out of there shaking his head. It really changed our view of the school.
Some people negotiate the price of a new car. Not “nobody” and not everyone.
And while it’s convenient to compare shopping for a new to car to choosing a college based on price, the analogy falls apart pretty quickly. The car salesperson doesn’t care if the prospective driver is in the top 1% for driving skills in the country, and probably doesn’t care if the buyer has demonstarted financial need and won’t/can’t buy the car unless a steep discount well below invoice price is offered.
You’re right. Everyone should take what they’re offered. Never ask for a better deal.
Schools that will “negotiate” significantly more aid are usually colleges that are hard pressed to fill the freshman class.
Boston University had, or maybr still has, a panic button at the FA receptionist’s desk. It summons campus police in the event of a parental meltdown.
That’s obviously not what I said. I do not appreciate you grossly mischaracterizing my words.
“ETA…if you have a conversion about this with one college…and they meet your needs, you should be prepared to put a deposit for admission down immediately”
I have heard this a bunch of times ^^ and it certainly sounds ethical and polite. But…why? I get that if you use the leverage “I’ll definitely go here if you give me the $” then you are ethically obliged to fulfill that promise. But if you haven’t said that - why should you feel constrained to sign on the dotted line immediately?
Just wondering and trying to get a sense of it all…